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It's imperative to have a good work environment, especially if you work from home. A dedicated and organized workspace can increase your productivity and mental clarity.

If you're a designer, you may internalize a messy desk even more than someone who is less visual.

I'm constantly inspired to clear off my desk and thoroughly clean all of the surfaces.

What a difference it makes! After a mere hour's worth of cleaning, I felt rejuvenated and ready for my day.

Minimalist desk

Here's a small tour showing you what my desk looks like now. Later in the post I share my past workspaces, too. They all vary on art and technology, but the goal is always the same: have a minimal and clean desk that is functional to whatever I may be working on at the time (whether it's 100% computer work or 50% computer and 50% art supplies!).

Nowadays, my "home office" also counts as the secondary nursery, since I now usually have my newborn son in his Pack n Play right next to my desk. I realize I post a lot of workspace pictures on Instagram but I do have a new part of my office area that I had to share with you, too.

Here's my office buddy

I'm a minimalist. My office area currently is "junkier" than it has ever been in the past. But I came across a quote by Joshua Becker of the Becoming Minimalist blog that refined my knowledge on minimalism:

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them. It's for everyone who wants more out of less.

Here's what my office looked like right after we moved in and unpacked a little!

Anyway, so Joshua's deal is minimalism isn't about having completely blank white walls and one pen on your desk with your one piece of paper; it's about having less overall so you can focus on the stuff that's important to you.

What my desk looked like when I was actually working.

My current desk setup is doing just that with the least amount of stuff I need to run my business and draw out and readily available to me. The draws in my desk are near full, but that's because I need those things at any given time.

This is so much sparser than it looks like now! Say hi to the Sour Bunny hiding at the bottom.

The amount of art multiplied greatly—and quickly! I'm thinking how cool it will be to hang my son's art when he starts drawing and coloring.

Here's a new feature of my desk: the shallow book shelf and the pen cups! I love having this set up like this because now I can easily grab tools that in the past I'd have to go digging for. I got the idea from hand lettering friend Ian Barnard.

The lighting setup

I Instagrammed this a while back but wanted to share it here, too. Here's how I have my lighting set up for videos and photos, since I don't get a lot of natural light in my loft office here.

Tour of past desks

Here's a quick tour of past desks and workspaces. I've moved a lot in the past 3 years, and each time I documented my desk and workspace a little.

2013 - Philadelphia, one-bedroom in a large apartment

Here's what my desk used to look like in 2013 when I moved into Natalie's apartment in South Philadelphia. This was a corner of my bedroom.